Royal terrorist struts and frets
By Robyn Hunt
Richard III must be one of Britain's most infamous villains. The rot began with Sir Thomas More and Tudor chroniclers, but poor Richard's bad press became international with William Shakespeare's history play of the same name.
The Tudor spin-doctors should be the envy of their modern counterparts for the hatchet job they did on history. Richard is so hated that his name is cockney rhyming slang for a turd, a piece of excrement.
William Shakespeare is not known for his historical accuracy, and I tried to remember this when attending a recent production of Richard iii, abridged, and in a 21st century setting, with Richard's shaven head and leather biker outfit giving him a particularly menacing presence.
Shakespeare's Richard is 'a lump of foul deformity,' an 'infection of a man. His deformity, described in detail by Sir Thomas More and others does not seem to have any basis in fact, other than he was a sickly child.
Richard limps and stumbles with enormous energy through 15 of the 25 scenes of the play, and even in an abridged version it would be a punishing ordeal for someone with a significant physical disability, if a disabled actor ever played the role.
In this production the actor who played Richard most definitely wasn't disabled although he certainly looked the part, but I found myself wondering how a physically disabled man could manage all those stairs on-stage with such apparent ease. Having to comply with an access code might have cramped the dramatic style!
Shakespeare dies not satisfactorily establish Richards's motivation for al that wickedness, simply referring to his impairment in passing during the soliloquy in Act One.
I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling Nature,
Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time
Into this breathing world scarce half made up
Richard is obviously a full member of the royal family as the play opens, so it is hard to see his deformity as a real cause of his misanthropic behaviour. In modern terms at least he has not suffered unduly. As a member of the Royal family he is privileged, and well looked after as befits a man of his position.
Those who wanted to discredit him described Richard as deformed only after his death. At that time people associated a deformed body with an evil disposition. It is depressing that one of the world's most beloved playwrights, a cultural icon of the English speaking nations has contributed with Richard III so much to the damage caused by negative perceptions and portrayals to disabled people.
Subsequent work by other writers has added negativity to negativity, one example being DH Lawrence's unfair treatment of Lady Chatterly's husband in his novel 'Lady Chatterly's Lover.'
It is some comfort to note that the Richard III Society has done its bit in the last 70 or so years to redeem the reputation of the unfortunate monarch. It has worked through scholarship and research to establish the historical truth about a real person who appears as a character larger than life in William Shakespeare's play, and biased historical accounts.
Awakenings Performing Arts Festival
The dust has barely settled following the High Beam Festival in Adelaide South Australia and already preparations are well underway for another Australian performing Arts Festival.
The town of Horsham in New South Wales will host the festival from October 11 - 20 2002.
The aim of the festival is "To make participation in the performing arts accessible and enjoyable to all sections of the community"
The performing arts program for 2002 includes dance, drama, poetry, comedy and music, Workshops in various aspects of performing arts skills are also planned.
There will also be a visual arts and photography exhibitions, a Ball and a progrmme of recreational activities,
Organisers say they want to include opportunities for indigenous performers and artists to increase their participation in the festival.
The social side includes activities networking activities and simply having fun.
For more information, including regular newsletters contact:
Email - wimnet@netconnect.com.au
Or visit the Web site http://awakenings.horsham.net.au/index.php3
International Guild meets
The fledgling International Guild of Disabled Artists and Performers (IGODAP) held its first meeting at the High Beam Arts Festival in Adelaide South Australia in May this year.
GODAP is a collective of disabled artists and performers
Fifteen artists and performers attended the meeting from the UK, Canada, Australia and NZ.
The Guild has around 100 members and ids developing links with other kindred organisations.
Discussion took place around the Guild's aims and objectives, the structure of the organisatin, and membership issues. International support for the Guild seems assured.
For more information visit the website at. http://www.diversitynz.com/igodap/
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